As my contract with Panalpina comes to a close (mid-October), as scrum master and agile coach for one of their systems integrations team, I have begun working on my next role.
Throughout a long career in a corporate environment, I’ve seen and worked with many people who’ve been GREAT in their technical role, but then been promoted into a manager/leader role, and they begin to struggle. I WAS that person. After my first 6-month foray into a team lead role, I gave my team ‘back’ to my boss and said I didn’t like the manager role, missed the depth and analysis of the technical role, and never wanted to lead again. I felt like a fish out of water. Performance Reviews. Goal Setting. Politics. Conflict Resolution. I could not figure out how to be a boss to my colleagues after I was just their peer yesterday.
Luckily, my bosses did not give up on me. They saw my potential, and they provided me the training classes I so desperately needed to gain my skills and confidence, and then a few chances to dip my toes into that leadership water again. Two years later, I was able to manage a team of 5 managers and over 100 people. What a difference a program of training and mentoring can make! And I never stopped learning… about leadership, self-improvement, innovation, and team work. My library was full of books and my Audible account was heavily used.
Unfortunately, many companies no longer invest in young leaders. Smaller companies may not have the finances to provide it. And many people now learn in smaller sound bytes instead of 3 to 5 day classes. Time away from work feels like too much pain or hassle.
Now is my time to give back. To pay it forward. I have a passion to grow new leaders into great leaders. Throughout my own career, I’ve had a chance to help several young leaders, and they have blossomed beautifully. Several have taken their own careers far beyond mine, and likely far beyond what they might have thought possible.
Through my Green Hat Coaching business, I will soon begin to offer a guided coaching program – a blend of professional coaching based on leadership topics from some of the ‘greats’ in the industry. During our coaching sessions, we’ll talk a bit about one of the leadership concepts or techniques, and spend most of our time exploring how this concept/technique applies in your own new-leader role. The discussion is focused on you – your challenges, points of confusion, and frustration with being a new leader. Together, we can help you find your way through it to greatness.
Or perhaps you are not YET a new leader. Perhaps you are looking for some learning and coaching BEFORE that next promotion. Congratulations! This coaching is for you, too.
So that I can coach nearly anyone anywhere, I plan to offer this program through online video conferencing. You can slip away during the business day for an hour of coaching, or we can talk in the evening or early morning.
Would you like to be one of the first few coachees? Stay tuned… my target is to begin around November 1.
Gain the skills and confidence to lead people and manage teams, without the frustration and risk, through a bit of education and personal one-on-one coaching.
Be ready to take on the challenge, and get ready for the one after that!
Earn respect and appreciation from your teams, peers, and senior leaders.
Blossom into the leader you were created to be.
Journey to Leader Coaching Program
Coming Soon
